Engineered Periwinkle Cells Yield New Compounds

9:53 AM MST | February 9, 2009 | REBECCA COONS

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT; Boston) say they have developed a process to genetically engineer a periwinkle plant cell to produce new compounds. The process has the potential to yield new drugs to treat diseases or make drug candidates less toxic or more effective, say the researchers, who recently detailed their work in the journal Nature Chemical Biology. Garden Variety: Periwinkle produces several alkaloid compounds of interest. The ability to engineer plant cells to produce greater amounts of known natural product is...